The Chelsie Storybook
by Danielle Shepherd
Summary: A place for all the Chelsie one shots I come up with. Some will be canon, some will not. Some will be AU's, some will not. Some will be sequels to previous stories. Some will be sad, some will not. But all will be all Chelsie, all the time. With appearances from other characters.
1. So She Dances

**A/N: Ok, so this is the first installment, in what I'm tentatively calling 'The Chelsie Storybook', basically its going to be a place where I can upload the various little Chelsie one off pieces I come up with when I should be doing other things. Can't guarantee when updates will be though.**

 **This first 'entry' was inspired by the song 'So She Dances' by Josh Groban. I was listening to it earlier, and the idea just began to form. It didn't quite turn out exactly how I wanted it to, but I hope you all still enjoy it anyway. It basically revolves around 4 servants balls, and Charles' thoughts at each one. I hope you enjoy it, and if you want to hear the song it can be found on youtube, and I posted a link to it on my tumblr earlier today.**

 **Disclaimer: Not mine. Nothing at all in this is mine. Josh Groban owns the song, Julian Fellowes owns the characters.**

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January 1901

 _She sways in the moonlight_

Charles Carson headed back downstairs after completing his final checks for the night. It had been a hectic day and he would be glad to get to bed. Yesterday, Mrs Hill had received an urgent telegram from her brother and had headed off to visit him. This had left the head housemaid Elsie, to assume the position of temporary housekeeper in her absence. As the servants ball was the following day, everyone had been rushing around trying to make sure everything was ready.

As he reached the bottom step he heard a soft humming coming from the servant's hall. Charles frowned slightly as he wondered who it was. All the other servants had gone to bed almost an hour and a half ago, and Elsie had headed up just as he was going off to do his final rounds. Charles moved quickly and quietly to the doorway, ready to tear into whoever was still up when he found his voice stuck in this throat. At the far end of the hall, Charles could see Elsie dancing with an invisible partner. He frowned in confusion. It wasn't as though she needed the practice as from what he could remember of last years ball, she was a good dancer. In later years, he would come to realise it was because she was nervous about having to dance the opening dance with Lord Grantham Had he known then, he would have interrupted her and offered to help, but he daren't for fear of embarrassing her. It was only the start of her second year at Downton after all.

Charles stood watching for a moment longer, the sliver of moonlight from the window casting her shadow across the floor and walls. A small sigh echoed throughout the quiet hall, and Charles quickly hurried towards his pantry for fear of being seen.

The following night, as he danced with Lady Grantham, Charles stole a look over at Elsie as she circled past in Lord Grantham's arms. There was no way anyone would know that she had practiced by herself in the servants hall or the nerves that were lurking below the surface. Charles couldn't help but get a vision of the future, the two of them running Downton side by side. Not that he was wishing retirement upon Mrs Hill. Its just it seemed right with him and Elsie as the heads of staff.

He shook the thoughts out of his head, as the dance came to an end and he inclined his head in Lady Grantham's direction before he moved to the edge of the room to watch the remaining festivities.

* * *

January 1912

 _The melody's making her cry_

Once again, Charles found himself watching Elsie from the corner of the room. Since the ball back in 1901, he had always found his eyes straying to Elsie when she was dancing with someone. He wasn't sure why, but he always felt a knot in his stomach when he saw her dancing with someone, anyone really. Once or twice he had thought about asking her to dance, but in their position as the butler and housekeeper, it wouldn't do. He didn't want there to be any gossip between the staff about any impropriety. Though Charles had to admit, he had heard those murmurs before usually accompanied by the maids laughing and wondering if Mrs Patmore was secretly involved with the butcher as he always gave them extra cuts of meat every now and again.

As she circled past him, in the arms of Patrick Crawley, he raised a small smile at her and saw it was returned with a watery one. It was then that he noticed that Elsie had traces of tears on her cheeks. Charles' first thought was that the young heir had upset her in someway. He then realised that while it was a gentle piece of music, there was a deep melancholy edge to it, and a hint of wistfulness to. _So that's what got to her_ , he thought as his eyes scanned the crowd before they landed on Elsie once more. Charles saw that she was walking across the saloon towards the door that led to the servants hall.

"Is everything alright?" he asked as he caught up to her.

"It is," Elsie nodded as she turned to look it at him, "it's just sometimes…oh don't mind me Mr Carson, I just need a moment," she added as she headed towards her sitting room.

Charles watched as she walked away and frowned slightly. Something was on her mind, and it confused him that she hadn't confided in him, like she normally did. It wouldn't be until several months later when she would ask him if he ever wished he'd gone another way that he'd realise what had been on Elsie's mind.

* * *

January 1924

 _A waltz for the chance I should take/But how will I know where to start?_

As he stood in the corner of the room, watching over the crowd, Charles found his eyes straying towards the housekeeper, waltzing with Mr Branson. He was the first to admit, he hadn't been Mr Branson's biggest fan when he had first returned to Downton following his marriage to Lady Sybil. However, now Charles had to concede the fact that Mr Branson had coped admirably, and had begun to steer Downton Abbey to steadier ground.

Since the day at the beach, Charles had found himself thinking about Elsie more often. Actually if he was honest with himself, he had been thinking about her in less platonic ways since the business of Charlie Grigg's return, and how she'd stitched up the wound left behind by Alice's betrayal. It had occurred to Charles, on they way back to London from Brighton, after they'd waded into the sea together, hand in hand, that somewhere throughout the twenty something years, he had worked alongside her, that he'd fallen in love with her. Initially the thought had shocked him, after the business with Alice, he had never expected to love anyone again. However, the more he thought on it, the more he realised that if he was ever to fall in love again, it couldn't have been with anyone but her. The only problem was, Charles didn't know if she felt the same as him, or even where to begin taking that next step, that particular chance with her.

Once again, Charles thought about asking her to dance. Times had changed. No one would think anything of it, if the two heads of staff, shared one dance at the servants ball. However, he quickly changed his mind. He wanted his first dance with her, to be one that meant something to both of them. One where he wouldn't have to attempt to hide anything from her. _Maybe next year_ , he sighed.

* * *

January 1925

 _We've got the floor/And you're in my arms/How could I ask for more?_

 _This was the year_ , Charles thought to himself. This was going to be the year that he finally danced with Elsie at the servants ball.

Unlike the previous year, when he had talked himself out of asking her to dance. Too afraid of the unknown. This year Charles knew exactly how Elsie felt about him. Knew that it would mean something to the both of them. He also knew no one would talk if they were to dance together. Since New Year's Day, their engagement had been public knowledge. The majority of the household had been shocked at the news. Charles had been bewildered by that reaction, was it really that shocking that he should ask her to marry him. However, Elsie had set him straight, and explained they had only been shocked, because they had all thought it would never happen.

Charles watched as she laughed with Mrs Patmore about something and smiled. Last year, he could only imagine what it might feel like to have Elsie return his love. But know he knew, and it was far better than he could ever have imagined. To him it felt like his entire world had shifted, nothing and no one would mean more to him, could ever mean more to him than she did.

As the current piece of music came to an end, Charles straightened his tie, and walked over to where Elsie was stood.

"Would you like to dance?" he asked, and inwardly smirked at her shocked reaction.

"Of course she would," Beryl replied answering for Elsie, who shot her friend a sharp glare, "she's only been hoping you would ask her for the past twenty years," she added, and Charles wasn't entirely sure, Beryl was talking about dancing.

"I can speak for myself," Elsie commented, "but she is right, Mr Carson," she added, "I would like to dance with you. You only ever had to ask," she smiled as she took the hand he held out and let him lead her to stand amongst the other dancing couples. As they began to move in unison, both knew that this was to be the first dance of many.

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 **I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you'll let me know what you think.**

 **To those reading Things My Heart Used To Know, the next chapter is slowly coming along, and will be uploaded soon.**


	2. It's Time

**A/N: Thanks to everyone that read the first 'entry' into the storybook. I have another idea 'on ice' so to speak, it just needs to be edited and finished. I wrote this during a slow day at the office, so I'm not entirely sure where the inspiration came from. Either way, this is just a little bit, that's set somewhere in series 6 and Charles deciding its time to make an important life decision, so to speak.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. Not even one little part of them.**

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It's Time

The house party had been a great success. It had come as a shock to all of the house when a letter from the secretary to the Prince of Wales had wrote, saying that the Prince, the Duke and Duchess of York would be heading North for the grouse and would like to spend some time at Downton before continuing on their journey to Balmoral. Once the dates were confirmed, everything went crazy. Mrs Patmore and Mrs Carson had been meeting daily with Lady Grantham to check, and double check what guests would be staying, what food should be served, what rooms were best suited, did any of them need redecorating. Mary and Edith had worked together on planning entertainments and the flowers. Mr Carson had spent hours drilling Andy, Molesley and Thomas on the correct way to act and behave in front of their royal guests. Lord Grantham had taken to sitting on in the meetings about menus alongside Mr Carson so that they could all be singing from the same hymn sheet when it came to wines to match the courses. Nothing was to be left to chance.

Charles couldn't help but glance at the grandfather clock in the saloon as he walked towards the green baize door. As he suspected it was almost half past twelve and he would have to be up in roughly five and a half hours. The Prince of Wales and Lord Grantham had finally retired for the night, ten minutes ago and he had just finished locking up. He rubbed a hand warily over his face, as he opened the door and walked down the stairs. Not for the first time, he wondered if he was getting too old for this. Especially when he had his lovely wife waiting for him in their room.

Charles smiled as he recalled that day two months ago when he and Elsie had become husband and wife. They had married on a Wednesday and Lady Mary, with the full support of both her parents, had insisted that they have a few days to themselves. They had spent three full days in the cottage that Charles had brought for them both, and had enjoyed every moment of it. Just to be able to shut the door on the world and not have their day dictated by the sound of bells.

On reaching the servant's hall, Charles quickly checked everything was locked up before heading up to bed. As he walked up the servant's stairs, Charles thought about the routine that had dictated practically every moment of his working life. Every morning he would awake just before six, he would serve breakfast at eight, luncheon at one, tea at five, and then dinner at eight. In between that he'd be polishing silver, checking the wine lists, ordering new ones. The only real breaks he got were the tea breaks he shared with Elsie and there would always be something that interrupted them.

Rather than head towards the men's corridor as he used to, Charles now headed in the direction of the unused rooms around the corner from the servant's corridor that had been made up as their room. Though the Grantham's had offered them a small cottage on the estate not a two minute walk from the house, they had elected to take rooms near the servants corridor so that they could be on hand should an emergency arise in the middle of the night.

He pushed open the door to the room and found Elsie sat up in bed reading the letter she had received from Becky in the evening post. On seeing him enter, she smiled brightly and folded Becky's letter back up, and set it on the bedside table.

"I was wondering when you were going to come to bed," she commented.

"And I'm wondering why you are not asleep, you've been up since five am."

"And whose fault was that?" Elsie smirked as she recalled their activities that morning.

Charles gave her an answering smirk as he went about his night-time routine, before he climbed in beside her.

"Is everything alright?" Elsie asked as she noticed. the odd look on his face.

"It is," he nodded, "I think this house party has been a success. But I don't know if Downton will see something like this again," he continued, "or if it does I don't know that we'll be here to see it."

At this, Elsie turned to face him, scrutinising her husband carefully. This was the first time he'd talked about them not being at Downton. They'd agreed to table the discussion of retirement for at least eight months following their wedding and it had only been two.

"What on Earth has brought this on?" she asked.

"Tonight," he replied simply, "I was stood there watching His Royal Highness and Lord Grantham talking and I just found myself wondering if we were getting too old for this," he added, "not you of course, you could never be old," he added hastily on seeing the look Elsie had on her face.

"Are you saying…"

"That maybe it is time for us to retire?" Charles clarified, "I am," he nodded, "well?"

"I think," Elsie began after a pause, "that maybe it is time for us," she added, "however, I think we should discuss this more in the morning," she finished as she led down and turned to face him.

Charles nodded in agreement, and settled down beside her. He smiled as almost immediately Elsie curled up against his side, resting her head on his chest. Both found themselves lost in thoughts of retirement, and the many things they would have time to do.

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 **Hope you liked it, leave a review or a few words, if you did.**


	3. Candlelight

**A/N: Ok so here we are again. This was not the fic I intended to write. The one I had intended to write, ran away and hid. As did another one I tried to write, and this little story popped up in its place. So I hope you'll like it.**

 **This time its a little turn into a modern AU for our wonderful Chelsie, just a nice little candlelit dinner, with a bit of dancing. Oh and a small, (minuscule) blink and you'll miss it reference to 'Things My Heart Used To Know'. So you really don't have to have read that to get the gist of this little fic.**

 **Disclaimer: Not mine. I also don't own the words Charles sings to Elsie. Which belongs to the song 'Songbird' by Eva Cassidy.**

* * *

Elsie took one last look at herself in her compact mirror, before getting out of her car and walking up the front path towards Charles's front door. Unlike the last time when he'd cooked her a meal, she didn't have to worry about how late she stayed out, as Leila was staying over at Beryl's the night, which meant she had all the time in the world. Raising a hand, she knocked on the front door and waited for Charles to answer.

"Good evening," he said as he opened the door and standing aside to let her in.

"Not too early am I?" she asked as he took her coat off of her and hung it up.

"It wouldn't matter, even if you were," Charles replied kissing her lightly.

As she followed him into the kitchen, Elsie noticed that he had already set the table for the two of them, complete with candlesticks. Elsie knew it went against everything she used to believe in when it came to relationships, but she really enjoyed the fact that Charles never covered up any romantic tendencies that he had. She sat down at the table, and accepted the glass of wine he handed her, knowing that he wouldn't except her help. Mostly because she wanted to make it her business to try and distract him from cooking

"How's your day been?" Charles asked.

"Inventory hell," Elsie shrugged "Anna and I spent several hours making sure all the invoices were in order. You?"

"I spent most of it putting out fires in the office," he replied, "I longed for time to speed up, just so I could spend the evening with you."

"Charmer," she smirked, before letting him returning to his cooking.

-X-

Half an hour later, they were sat at the table, enjoying the closeness of the other, and the atmosphere created by the soft music and candlelight. In his mind, Charles had decided that his favourite look of Elsie's was when she was bathed in the low glow of candlelight with the flames casting shadows across her face, making her eyes seem deeper and more mysterious than they normally were.

"What?" she asked noticing that Charles was staring at her.

"Nothing," he replied, earning him Elsie's patented 'I don't believe you, what are you really thinking?' look. He had been on the receiving end of that look, the other week when he had taken her and Leila out for dinner.

"Oh, I love this song," Elsie sighed as she heard the opening strains come over the speakers.

"In that case," Charles said standing up and holding out his hand to her "can I have this dance?"

She smiled shyly up at him, before she stood up and placed her hand in his, allowing him to pull her close.

As they slowly moved around the kitchen in time to the music, Elsie tucked her head against his neck and felt reassured by the steady beating of his heart. The flickering candlelight providing an extra dimension to the sentiment of the song. She smiled as she felt his lips brush against the top of her head, before he spun her out and then back in as the song started to come to an end. Elsie smiled as she heard him sing the last lines in her ear: ' _And I love you, I love you, I love you, Like never before'_

As the song came to an end, Charles dipped her backwards before pulling her back up and kissing her deeply.

"You're pretty close to perfect aren't you?" she asked, receiving a cheeky wink in reply before he leaned in and kissed her again.

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 **Thanks for reading, leave a word or two of a review if you liked it. Or even if you have an idea you'd like to see at some point.**


	4. Flowers

**A/N:Thanks again for the reviews for the previous chapters, I'm glad you're all liking these little one off Chelsie stories. Anyway, the idea for this little story came from something that Brenna-Louise said would give her all the feels if she saw it on screen, so I hope she doesn't mind that I borrowed the idea and wrote it just in case we don't see it on screen in series 6. This somewhat follows on from the one-shot in chapter two, where Charles and Elsie discuss the topic of retirement. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy. Fair warning, there are some small spoilers for series 6 in this chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own them. My word, I wish I did though.**

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Elsie felt her shoulders droop as she walked through the green baize door, following another meeting with Lady Grantham and Lady Mary about the dinner party this weekend. The dinner party would coincide with a visit from Lady Rose and Mr Aldridge as well as Charles Blake following his return from Poland. It would also be the first dinner party that Lady Mary and Henry Talbot would attend as a betrothed couple following the engagement announcement the previous week.

Normally Elsie hated wishing her time away, but today she longed for the month to be over so that she and Charles could finally retire. They had informed Lord and Lady Grantham of their intention to retire, several days after the house party that had seen them entertain the Prince of Wales as well the Duke and Duchess of York. They had initially been a little shocked, but had wished them well and asked to let them know when the date of departure had been chosen. Though both had been sad to lose the couple, both Charles and Elsie had noted a brief flicker of relief in Lord Grantham's eyes, especially as he had been making the odd staff cutback here and there. Elsie had started the year with four housemaids, now she only had two. Even with a vacuum cleaner –which saved a bit of time- Elsie still found that she was having to do a large part of the cleaning as well. It was mostly linens and the odd bit of dusting, but it still added to her already great workload. She should have been training Miss Baxter as well, but as she was in bed with a cold, there wasn't much she could do at the moment.

Elsie knew that Charles wasn't faring any better in the staff stakes. He had a small handful of hall boys, and two footmen. Thomas had been torn between insolence and making himself indispensable since he had first heard of the cutbacks. When he had learnt that his superiors were soon to be retiring, Thomas had felt for sure the butler's position was his, but had been most aggrieved to hear that Molesley was also being considered for the position due to his previous experience. So now he had taken to trying to subtly undermine Molesley which was keeping both her and Charles on their toes.

Elsie walked into the kitchen and exchanged a weary sigh with Beryl as she passed over the menu changes.

"Again?" Beryl huffed as she looked at the piece of paper that Elsie had just handed her, before passing it over to Daisy.

"Yes," Elsie nodded, "let me know if I need to order anything extra," she added.

"Well at least one of the deserts, and a main course are still the same," Daisy commented as she compared the two menus, "so there shouldn't be that much extra for the two of us to do," she added causing Beryl to roll her eyes at her assistant cook. Mrs Patmore had also lost several members of kitchen staff and was attempting to prepare a grand dinner party (with a big luncheon the following day for those who were staying the night) with only herself, Daisy and one other kitchen maid.

"Have you seen Mr Carson anywhere?" Elsie asked, knowing that a small talk with her husband would go a long way to clearing her mind.

"He was in your sitting room earlier," Beryl replied "and then he said something about running an errand in the village."

"Thank you," she smiled before she left the kitchen and gave a small sigh _'looks like I'll have to wait until later for that talk'_.

As she walked into her sitting room, the first thing that Elsie noticed was a small bouquet of wildflowers sitting in a small vase on her desk. She smiled as she knew exactly who would have placed the flowers there. Elsie's smile widened as she saw a piece of paper, leaning against the vase and she recognised the writing. Elsie headed over to her desk and picked up the piece of paper. Elsie bit her lip to try and contain her smile as she read the words.

"You hopeless romantic," she muttered under her breath, with a shake of her head.

"It's only for you my darling," came a deep voice from behind her.

Elsie turned around and smiled as she saw Charles stood just inside the doorway. She walked towards him, only for Charles to meet her half way. Years of working side by side, and several months of extremely up close studying, had led Charles to figure out exactly what Elsie was feeling at any given moment. In this instance he could sense that she was tired and wanted nothing more than their retirement to arrive sooner than it was. Charles could also sense that she wanted little more time with him than their small tea break would allow. Without saying a word, Charles wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, allowing her to rest her head against his chest.

"Three more weeks, Elsie my dear, just three more weeks," he murmured against her hair, causing her to lift her head to look at him.

"I thought you weren't going to call me Elsie at work?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. Charles didn't have an answer for her. He merely smirked at her, and pulled her close once more, before brushing his lips across the top of her head.

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 **Hope you all liked it, leave a word or two in review if you did. Or even if you didn't. I'll talk to anyone.**


	5. Dollar Signs and Crimson Hair

**A/N: Ok, so this is just a random little AU idea that popped into my head while listening to the song 'Juliet' by Lawson, and then just would not leave me alone. At the moment this is just going to be a stand alone one shot AU, with Chelsie in very different roles to how we know them. Though I may carry it on at some point (even if its only in one shots in this little collection of stories). Anyways let me know what you think.**

 **Disclaimer: Not mine. And neither is the song Juliet which is where the title comes from.**

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Charles Carson had a reputation for being one of the most successful private investigators in the country. While he covered a range of cases (several banks had him on a retainer to track those that were embezzling money), the majority of cases that he took involved scorned or jilted lovers. Or those who suspected their spouse of adultery. His business had really taken off when he had helped the youngest daughter of the Crawley family escape from an abusive marriage and flee to America with her Irish lover. Following that the upper classes had come to him for all manner of reasons. It was this reputation that had brought him to his current location.

Normally Charles never met perspective clients outside of his office. However, for the right price, (and if you happened to be one of the upper classes that required his investigative service regularly) he would make an exception. He had been to Boodle's plenty of times, to meet with clients and was on the list of trusted visitors that were allowed to walk the hallowed halls of one of the oldest and most exclusive Gentleman's Clubs in London.

"Thank you for meeting me here Mr Carson," Lord Parsons said as Charles approached the table, "I know you don't normally meet clients outside of the office, but…"

"You felt this would be better following the recent press intrusion," Charles had read about Lord Parsons recent troubles in the press like every other person. A high profile divorce, and a fling with a red haired woman over half his age. Charles guessed that the woman was the exact reason why he was here.

"Quite," Lord Parsons replied as he pulled out a small envelope and slid it over to Charles. He pulled it open and looked at the photo contained inside. Charles recognised her instantly as the woman he had been having the fling with. "Her name is Elsie Hughes."

"And you want me to follow her?"

"Not exactly."

* * *

Elsie smiled as she looked at the message on her phone. The funds had fully transferred to her account. Even with the 25% cut she had to give Richard (15 years on and she was still paying for his silence), she was still £900,000 richer. Before she let herself think about where her next target would come from, Elsie transferred £100,000 into a separate account so that the standing order could continue.

Once she had sorted that out, Elsie began to plot her next move. Even though she sometimes allowed herself a small holiday in between 'games', Elsie found she couldn't be bothered to go online and check flights to the Maldives. Plus after the last time and the near miss, Elsie really did not want to risk it. She walked into her office and pulled out a file from one of the drawers. Elsie flicked through the information Thomas had given her about the Rainbow Casino and smiled. It was useful to have a friend who knew plenty of croupiers and was completely unscrupulous in his attempts to get her information. The Rainbow Casino was fairly new but already had a loyal customer base, and several businessmen and Lords were amongst the members. The perfect place for her to find someone new. From experience she knew the best clientele would be there on Friday nights, so she would wait until the weekend to make her move. _However,_ she thought as she caught sight of one of her freshly dry cleaned suits hanging against the wardrobe, _there's nothing to stop me scoping out the place first._

* * *

Charles handed his coat over to the woman at the coat check and took his ticket all the while scanning the casino foyer. He knew from his tailings (and the information Lord Parsons had given him) that Elsie liked to hang around the casino, to look for her next 'game'. Some nights she would only scam the money out of those who had won big on poker or black jack. Other nights she would be searching for the long game. Those really rich clients who had tabs at the bar, houses in both the city and the country. Those who could lose £10,000 in a night and merely shrug it off as though it was 1p lost down the back of the sofa. Charles' tailings from the previous two nights had told him that tonight would be the night she was looking for a long game. If he was to successfully humiliate and ruin her, and recoup the fortune that she had taken from Lord Parsons, Charles would have to go undercover and be her next - and final - long game.

As Charles walked through the doors and onto the casino floor, he paid close attention to the female patrons of the casino. Every time he caught a flash of red hair, Charles looked closer to see if it was Elsie. From previous experience during an ill-advised youthful trip to Vegas with a former friend, he knew that whenever someone won big, or wanted to flash the cash around, they would more than likely be at the bar. And if he were looking for a woman who made it her business to part those lucky men from their money, then the bar would be the best place to look.

If it were possible the restaurant and bar area looked more opulent than the rest of the casino. The bar was black steel with a gold work top, chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Along the far wall there were several small tables, with curtains that could shut the booths off from the rest of the bar. As he walked towards the bar, he caught his first glimpse of Elsie. Well first glimpse that wasn't on a crowded street or walking past the opposite end of the black jack table. Her crimson hair was piled high on the top of her head with a few loose tendrils framing her face and the slinky green dress seemed to cling so tight to her it appeared as though she had been poured into it. Charles closed his eyes briefly, and pushed away any thoughts that shouldn't be existing while on a job. The last time sex had mixed with business it had been a decidedly messy affair.

With one last slight shake of his head, he smiled to himself and walked over to the bar, intent on playing up to the image of a rich businessman who had just made himself richer by sitting at a poker table.

"Bottle of your finest champagne and something for yourself," Charles said as he signalled the bartender and took a seat next to Elsie. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that she had snapped her head up and was watching him closely.

"That would be the Krug 1996 Clos D'Ambonnay sir," the bartender replied "one of Ambonnay's rarest champagnes with only 3,000 bottle produced every few years. A steal at £1, 500," he added.

"Perfect," Charles replied.

"Cash, card or account sir?"

"Card," he commented and handed over the card that he used exclusively for cases, making sure to discreetly flash some of the cash he'd won in Elsie's direction.

"Lucky break?"

"Something like that," Charles smiled as he tried to ignore the low, seductive quality of the Scottish burr, "would you care to join me?"

"I'd love to," she replied as Charles signalled the bartender to bring two glasses. Both regarded the other carefully. They could sense a long game about to begin with only one winner.

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 **Loved it? Hated it? Want to see more of this universe? Let me know.**


	6. It's You

**A/N: Ok, so this came about as a result of me looking through a prompt generator for something completely different. And this one just kept niggling away at my brain and so I made it an AU Chelsie fic, I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think.**

 **Disclaimer: Not mine**

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Prompt: It's the night before your wedding and you finally admit to yourself that you don't love the person you are able to marry. Write about what happens next.

-x-x-x-x-

Elsie sat on the edge of her bed and stared at the white garment bag hanging on the wardrobe door. This event had been months in the planning and now, in just twelve hours it would be time. Not for the first time, she had questioned why on Earth she was marrying Joe. He was everything her father and stepmother could hope for, for her. And on paper, everything Elsie had thought she wanted. He was funny, smart, successful, completely adored her. But there was just something lacking. Something Elsie knew she would find wrapped up in one Charles Carson sized package. He held all the same qualities that Joe did, but Elsie had felt more in six months of working with Charles than she had in the three years she'd been with Joe.

Elsie smiled as her thoughts turned to the first time she had met Charles. It had been the day she moved to the small town of Downton following her father's marriage. Elsie had been fourteen at the time and annoyed at having to move several hundred miles away from her friends, remaining family, and the small church where her mother was buried. Charles had been the boy next door, and he had offered to show her around. Elsie had readily took the chance, eager to get away from her stepsister Katherine who she didn't particularly get along with. As time went on they had become each other's best friend. And whenever she had an argument with Katherine, Elsie would go and seek refuge in Charles' house.

Even at school they had always been together. She laughed as she recalled the time they had been sent to the headmistress's office for using the ink in their pens to have an ink fight at the back of their history lesson. Even now, Elsie was sure she could still hear the ringing in her ears that had followed the telling off they had received from Mrs Stevens.

Elsie sighed as she recalled those final years at the school, where everyone assumed that the two of them were dating or were going to end up dating. That had been purely because whenever there was a school dance she and Charles went together. However, they had never been anything more than friends, both too afraid to push the boundaries and see what would happen if they dared to be more than what they were.

They had gone their separate ways when it came to university, he had stayed local and gone to York, whereas she had gone back to Scotland and attended Edinburgh.

In the years that followed they had lost touch, and only saw each other sporadically. The last time had been before she took an internship in London the summer after she'd graduated. She had stayed there for five years, it's where she had met Joe. Then when Crawley Publishing had head hunted her to be their new head of HR, Elsie had jumped at the chance. Joe had seen it as a sign that they should get married and start their married life in Yorkshire, an area he had grown up in.

In hindsight, Elsie realised that it was probably this decision that had started it all off. Within minutes of arriving at the headquarters of Crawley Publishing, she had seen him. He was stood talking to the receptionist and their eyes had met.

Elsie bit her lip as she recalled how one night they'd both been working late as she had been helping Charles to recruit a new junior copywriter. Reminiscing about their school days and teachers had somehow led to a night in Charles' bed.

Following that Elsie had avoided him as best she could and thrown herself into planning her wedding. Yet no matter how hard she tried, Elsie couldn't stop herself from thinking about what might have been. She knew it was exactly the same for him. He had told her as much earlier that week, when he had asked her to run away and marry him instead. Initially, Elsie had said no, too afraid of doing something crazy for once in her life. But the idea kept ticking away in her subconscious and time was running out to actually make a decision

As she looked over at the garment bag, Elsie knew exactly what her decision was. The fact that it was accompanied by a crash of thunder from the summer storm that had been brewing only heightened the feeling that she was doing the right thing.

* * *

Across town, Charles was sat looking out of the window as the storm raged on outside. The invite to the wedding sat on the coffee table beside him. In just twelve hours the woman he loved would be marrying someone else, and there was nothing he could do about it. He had asked her to run away with him, but she had declined and at that moment, Charles had resigned himself to the fact that he would never get to be with her again.

Many moments since then he had entertained the notion of actually going to the church, waiting for the right moment and then making his case for objection. However he had decided against it for two reasons; one - he wasn't sure he would get the right reaction, and two - even if it was for the right reasons, he couldn't bring himself to wreck Elsie's wedding. Of course the devil on his shoulder was telling him to do it, he knew what her answer would be. Charles had seen the look in her eyes when he had asked her to run away and marry him instead. Charles supposed he could've imagined it, but for a moment he was sure that Elsie was going to take him up on the offer.

Charles was pulled out of his thoughts by a loud pounding on his front door. He groaned to himself, and headed towards the front door of his flat. He pulled it open, ready to yell at whoever was calling on him at midnight and found his words stuck in his throat when he saw who was stood there.

"Elsie?" he asked as he took in her mascara stained cheeks, bedraggled hair, and the way the rain was making her clothes cling to her, "did you run all the way here?"

"I figured I'd chicken out if I didn't," she shrugged, "are you going to let me in?"

Charles stood aside and gestured for her to go through to the living room before he hurried to get a towel to help her dry off.

"Why are you here?" he asked as he handed her the towel, "aren't you supposed to be getting married tomorrow, well later today," he added on seeing the time.

"I was," Elsie replied not meeting his eyes, "but I can't go through with it, I can't marry him."

"Why not?"

"Considering I showed up here in the middle of the night, I would've thought that would be obvious," she replied as she stood up from the sofa, "it's you Charles, it's always been you. Since we were teenagers," she added as she hooked her arms around his neck.

"Are you sure about this?" Charles asked, "you won't wake up tomorrow morning and think you've made the wrong choice?"

"No," Elsie replied with conviction, "I'm certain about this. Certain about you," she added before she lightly pressed her lips against his, "and I should've told you the minute I walked back into your life six months ago."

"Well, you can tell me now," he laughed.

"I love you," Elsie commented, "more than I ever thought I could love anyone."

"And I love you too," Charles said before he kissed her again, effectively silencing them both for a long time.

* * *

 **Let me know what you thought. They do make writing worthwhile.**


	7. Through The Years

**A/N: Ok, so this is just a little one shot that lets us see the Carson family (as created by my AU I Chose To Be Happy) on five different Christmases. All you need to know is that Elsie is the youngest daughter of Isobel and Reginald Crawley who were Lord and Lady Grantham in this AU and she ended up marrying the family's first footman who was Charles. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. I also don't own the song 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas' which the title of this little one shot comes from and which is quoted towards the end.  
**

* * *

Through The Years We All Will Be Together

1919

Elsie frowned as she heard the loud incessant knock on the front door. She had finally gotten Amelia to go down for her afternoon nap and this could very easily wake her back up again.

"Yes?" she asked as she opened the door to see two men she recognised from the market, with a 6ft tree behind them.

"You Mrs Carson?" one of them asked.

"I am," she replied, "why?"

"Mr Carson picked this tree out half an hour ago and gave us an extra three shillings each if we delivered it, right to your front door and place it where you specified," the other man replied "so where do you want it?"

"By the bay window in the sitting room," Elsie replied, as she indicated the room. She recalled Charles saying that he would get the tree this week, though they weren't planning on making a big deal out of Christmas this year. Especially as Amelia was only three months old and wouldn't be aware of anything.

"Right you are ma'am," the first man said, "come on Billy."

Several hours later, Elsie was stood looking at the Christmas tree. She had decorated it with the decorations that they had, had last year. There were also some new ones that they'd brought and her favourites that Isobel had sent from Downton.

"What do you think darling?" she asked as she looked down at her daughter who was staring at the tree, but only noticing the colours, "your first Christmas tree," she added and got a gurgling sound in reply which Elsie took to mean she liked it, "I agree," she commented as she heard the telltale sound of the front door opening.

"I see there's nothing left for me to do," Charles commented as stood in the doorway and watched his wife and daughter.

Elsie smiled as she made her way over to him. As she drew near to him, Charles held his arms out and she knew instinctively what he wanted.

"There is something left for you to do," Elsie commented as she passed him Amelia.

"There is?" Charles asked as he held his daughter close and watched as Elsie pulled a small parcel from her pocket.

"You can hang the mistletoe," she replied, as she held it over their heads. He smiled in return before he leant down and kissed Amelia's forehead, before he turned his head slightly and gently kissed his wife conveying both a hello, and a promise for later that night.

1921

As their daughter was now two years old, Charles and Elsie were very much attuned to even the slightest noise from her bedroom just down the hall. So when they heard the tell-tale shuffling of a door opening and footsteps padding across the hall, they knew that any more sleep was an impossibility.

"Why is she up this early?" Charles murmured as he pulled her closer, his hand lightly stroked the bump that in four months would provide Amelia with a baby brother or sister.

"Because someone got her excited about Christmas," Elsie replied as she recalled the memory of seeing him read their daughter _'The Night Before Christmas'_ , "though I think maybe you should have mentioned that her parents don't like being woken early."

"Late mornings in bed, became a thing of the past, the moment she was born," Charles chuckled as their bedroom opened a little wider. They heard the sound of little feet hurrying across the floor before she jumped onto the bed.

"Morning mummy, morning daddy!" she exclaimed as she crawled under the covers to snuggle between them, "morning baby," she added as she hugged her mother, "is it time to open presents now?"

"Almost sweetheart," Charles replied, "though I'm not entirely sure you've been good enough to get any presents this year," he added as he shared a glance with Elsie. Both knew there was a pile of presents under the tree with Amelia's name all over them. He looked back down at his daughter and immediately regretted his earlier joke when he saw her sad expression, "oh I'm only joking my girl," he replied before he found himself with an armful of two year old exuberance.

Neither of the small family moved for another hour or so, content to just stay curled up under the covers as outside church bells rang and the snow began to fall.

1926

Charles walked into the room from the dressing room, and the first thing he noticed was that Elsie was already led down, and asleep. Or at least dozing lightly. The light from the fire cast flickering shadows on the wall. He removed his dressing gown, and placed it over one of the chairs. He frowned slightly as he recalled that she had definitely been more tired this Christmas. Though he did wonder if that was in part due to the fact that both of their children being full of the joys of the season. Well that and Isobel wanting to have a big family Christmas at Downton. As he got into bed, Elsie stirred slightly.

"I'm sorry I fell asleep," she murmured as she moved closer to him.

"You don't have to apologise," Charles replied.

"Well I'm glad you woke me, as I have another present for you," Elsie commented as she moved closer to him.

"Oh yes?" Charles asked as he slid a hand up and down her leg.

"Nothing like that," Elsie smirked though she did nothing to stop him, "anyway, I spoke to the doctor a couple of days before we came up here and he confirmed what I was thinking for a while," she added "in about seven months, Amelia and Reggie are going to have a brother or sister," she finished, as she studied Charles' face watching for his reaction.

Almost immediately, Charles pulled her closer and placed a hand over her still flat stomach, before he leaned in and kissed her deeply as he thought that this just might be one of the best Christmas' ever.

1936

Despite the fact that it was Christmas, there was sorrow clinging to the rafters of the Abbey. It had been four months since Reginald had died and Matthew had become Lord Grantham. Since then Isobel had become a shell of herself and Elsie and Matthew had been trying to bring her back out of herself. It was for that reason they had decided to once again spend Christmas at Downton. It had done Isobel some good to be surrounded by her children and grandchildren. They had already seen some marked improvement in her. Currently, Elsie was stood looking out of the library window as she watched Isobel walk back towards the house.

"Everything alright?" Charles asked as he came up behind her and slid his arms around her waist.

"Fine," she replied, "I'm just worried about mama. There are days when she seems better, but then like today, she just seems to draw back into herself."

"She'll be fine," Charles commented as he pressed a kiss to the side of her cheek.

Elsie turned around to face her husband fully and was about to comment when the library door opened. Both smiled as they saw their children walking towards them. Elsie noticed that their youngest was carrying a piece of paper.

"Look what I drew mama," Evangeline said as she reached her parents, "I made it for granny. Do you think she'll like it?" she asked as Charles picked her up.

"Oh I think so," Elsie smiled at her four year old daughter. Evangeline had been something of a surprise to them. It wasn't long after Christopher had turned five, Elsie had found out she was pregnant again, "what's it a picture of?"

"That's the Christmas tree, that's you, daddy, Amy, Reggie, Chris, granny, auntie Mary and uncle Matthew," Evangeline replied as she pointed out each person, "and that," she added as she pointed at another person, "is grampy watching over us all. But especially you mama," she finished before she hugged her.

1945

The thick snow coated the grounds of Downton Abbey, while War had once again ravaged the world, things were now slowly going back to normal. During the War, the Abbey had opened its doors and welcomed in the evacuated children but now it was once again a family home. Thanks to improvements made by Matthew and Tom in the 1920's, the house was self sufficient and they'd managed to cling on while others had fallen. Even if the Crawley's didn't live in it that much these days, preferring the house in London or the little cottage on the estate.

Like many other families, the Crawley's, Carson's, and Branson's hadn't escaped unscathed. Both George and Patrick had been injured in the line of duty (George was now completely confined to a wheelchair and Patrick had been blinded). Reggie had taken a piece of shrapnel in the wrong place while Aoife Branson had been left with burns down her right arm when she'd been caught up in the middle of the blitz during a shift at St. Thomas'. Thankfully, though they were all still alive and together.

Elsie looked around the library and smiled at the thought that they were all together. Charles was sat beside her, Matthew and Mary were talking in a corner while Sybil and Tom wrapped two remaining presents for their granddaughter. The various children, grandchildren and in-laws were somewhere in the Abbey or on the grounds. Her smile widened slightly as words she'd heard on the wireless earlier that day drifted across her mind, _'faithful friends who are dear to us, gather near to us, once more'_.

"What is it?" Charles asked as he noticed the smile that Elsie wore.

"I'm just so happy," she replied, "after the hell of the past six years, we're all here, the whole family together again."

"I quite agree," Mary commented as she sat on the sofa opposite them, "and even though Matthew and I much prefer living in the cottage, we're going to do this every year," she added.

"We are?" Matthew asked, trying to remember when he'd agreed to them spending Christmas at Downton every year.

"We are," Mary nodded, "that way once a year, we'll always be together, every one of us."

* * *

 **I hope you all enjoyed this little visit back to my Lady Elisabeth and Charles universe, do let me know what you think.**


	8. Masquerade

**A/N: So this is just a little thing that popped into my head when my friend sent me a list of prompt words, and Masquerade was one of them. This is just a little random modern AU, about a first meeting that could become something more. Although I haven't mentioned who the woman is, and we're focusing mainly on Charles in this, I think its a little obvious who he's dancing with.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.**

* * *

Charles Carson tugged at the bow tie as he sat in the backseat of the car. He really hated these types of black tie events. He'd only been back in the country two weeks, though it felt like a minute, and Robert was already dragging him to a charity event. Unlike the other events this wasn't just a black tie event, but a masquerade ball. He moved his hand from the bow tie and fingered the black mask.

" _I've only been back five minutes, why do I have to go?" Charles asked as he looked over the kitchen table at his old friend._

" _Because Cora told me to invite you," Robert replied, "we haven't seen you in six years, not since you took that job at Duke University. Besides this is the first event of hers that you'll have attended."_

" _So she organises charity events now? I thought she had decided to be a stay at home mother."_

" _No, she's in design and architecture. And to answer your other comment. She did, but Sybil starting school, coincided with one of her friends from university moving to London, she needed help with something and as a result they set up Crawley and Hughes. They have a whole team working underneath them. I never explain it well enough," Robert sighed, "I'll let Cora explain it when you see her. So will you come?"_

" _When and where?" Charles replied, sometimes it was just easier to accept Cora's invitations and let her get on with it._

Charles looked out of the window as the car turned onto Park Lane. He didn't think he'd actually ever been to The Dorchester, though he could perfectly understand why Cora had chosen to hold the event there. Her many charity events, always attracted a wide range of socialites, businessmen, and the occasional celebrity. So only the most expensive and luxurious would do. It also helped that the Crawley name still commanded the greatest respect, and that Cora had come from an extremely wealthy family in America.

The car came to a stop outside the hotel and Charles picked up his mask while he waited for the chauffeur to open the door.

"What time shall I pick you up Mr Carson?" he asked

"About 11, I should think." Charles replied after looking at his watch. The invite said 8 til midnight. But he had no desire to stay until the end. He'd stay long enough to make the rounds, see some old friends and then leave.

As he entered the lobby, he was struck by how it seemed like he was stepping into the past. Despite it modernising with time, the hotel still retained the look of the 1930's, which he couldn't help but smile at. Most hotels were too modern for his liking these days.

"Can I help you sir?" the concierge asked.

"Yes," Charles replied as he passed the invitation over.

"Of course sir, follow me," he commented as he led Charles through the hall towards the ballroom.

As Charles entered the ballroom, he noticed that there were already a few people there. He looked down at the mask he still held in his hands, and felt a little less self conscious about wearing it. He pulled it down over his eyes, and walked towards Robert and Cora who even with masks on, he recognised.

Sometime later, Charles was stood against the wall watching the people in the ballroom. Thanks to the masks, he hadn't been able to see who half of the people were. He had recognised the few people he knew - Robert, Cora, Violet, Isobel and a few others, but that had been all. He would happily have stayed and talked with Violet for most of the night, but she had left half an hour ago.

Charles' eye had been caught by a woman in a pale blue floor length dress, with a matching blue and silver mask, but so far he hadn't been brave enough to talk to her. It probably had something to do with the fact that she had been surrounded by people since he had arrived and it had just brought back memories of being at school. Plus she was also on the arm of another man and he didn't want to get in the way of something.

* * *

"Are you going to ask me to dance?" a voice said from beside him. Charles turned and saw the woman he had been looking at for most of the night, "or were you just going to lurk in the corner all night and make eyes at me?"

"Won't your boyfriend mind?" he asked as he indicated the tall man with slicked back dark hair who was talking with Robert.

"He's not my boyfriend," she laughed, "And I'm really not his type," she added.

At the realisation that she wasn't with anyone, Charles let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding.

"Would you like to dance?" he asked holding out a hand.

"Yes," she replied placing her hand in his.

As they reached the dance floor, the music changed to a slow ballad. He scratched the back of his neck nervously only to receive an amused glance from the woman. He placed his hand on her waist, and pulled her a little closer, determined to remain a gentleman.

"You can pull me closer," she teased, her accent a little more pronounced as they began to dance, "no one will say anything."

In response, Charles pulled her closer and tried not to think about how well they fitted together. He'd only been back for two weeks and he really didn't need to get involved with anyone at the moment. Yet there was something about her that made him want to get to know her better. See if anything could come of this.

He was pulled out of his thoughts as the woman stopped dancing and was pulling a mobile out of a pocket on her dress. That in itself made him smile, it certainly was unusual to see evening gowns with pockets and he liked the practicality of it. He could tell by the look on her face that the message she had read was unexpected.

"I have to go," she said apologetically, "something's come up," she added. Charles could sense there was something more than she was telling him, but he didn't mind. She had no right to tell him anything. He looked at the clock on the wall and noticed that his driver would be arriving soon.

"Would you mind if I waited outside with you?" he asked, "my driver is picking me up at eleven."

"I'll see you outside," she smiled.

-x-

"You know I don't even know your name," Charles commented as they stood outside the entrance to the hotel.

"And I don't know yours," she countered as a sleek black car pulled up, as she saw her driver get out she knew that it was for her. She reached up and pressed a kiss to his cheek as best she could, "but I do love a bit of mystery, so don't tell me it" she added as she walked over to the open door, "besides, I'll more than likely be seeing you again soon," she finished as she shut the door and waved at him through the window.

* * *

As he sat in the back of the car, Charles let his mind think back over the night, and the woman he had danced with. He really wished he'd been forward enough to ask for her number so he could at least speak to her again. Maybe even ask her out for dinner one evening. He did think about asking Cora or Robert if they knew her so he could at least pass on a message. Of course that would help, if he had an idea of what her name was.

Due to the mask, he hadn't been able to see much of her face, so he couldn't tell if she was one of Cora's friends. _Not that I'd remember if she was,_ he thought to himself, _the last time I saw any of them would have been at Robert and Cora's wedding thirteen years ago._

"Still nothing says I can't ask them if they know her," Charles muttered to himself, "after all she did say, she'd more than likely see me again."

That night, Charles fell asleep wondering if he was on the cusp of something great, and dreamt of a nameless woman with piercing blue eyes and a gentle Scottish lilt to her voice.

* * *

 **Let me know what you think. I'm not entirely happy with it, but whatever. I hope you liked it.  
**


	9. After The Beach

**A/N: So this idea came to me after seeing the actual building that they used as the exterior for Grantham House when I was in London on the weekend. And it had such a lovely garden as well. Anyway, the idea formed on the coach ride back home. It didn't turn out exactly the way I wanted it to so I hope you like it anyway. Its just a little canon story set at Grantham House after the day trip to the beach in the last episode of series 4.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.**

* * *

The house was silent. A rare feat in the London house, especially during the season when it wasn't uncommon for the servants to be going to bed in the early hours of the morning. But tonight, it was different. The family had retired shortly after returning from Rosamund's. The servants were all in bed and asleep. Too exhausted from a day of sun, sand and sea for even the briefest of hushed conversations between the occupants of the rooms. The only light anywhere in the house came from the butler's pantry. It spilled out from the open doorway and illuminated the deserted hallway.

If anyone saw the butler at that moment in time, they would be a little surprised. Mostly because his jacket was off, shirt sleeves were rolled up, his waistcoat undone and his head resting on interlocked fingers. For most of the evening, Charles had been reflecting on what had happened between him and Elsie – he always referred to her as Elsie in his head, he knew he had yet to earn the right to call her anything other than Mrs Hughes out loud – while they'd been stood hand in hand in the sea. In the quiet of his pantry he could still hear the gentle sound of the waves as they lapped around their ankles. Could still feel the softness of her hand in his as they'd stood in full view of everyone on the beach. He couldn't help but wonder why they had both been so bold, especially given some of the servants predilection for gossiping. Yet he hadn't heard the slightest hint of gossip from any of them. Not even Thomas (it would be several years before he learnt that Mrs Patmore had warned them off of gossiping, knowing how much it had taken for the two heads of staff to reach this point).

Of course most of those thoughts were dwarfed by his constant replaying of them holding hands and the undercurrent of something that he had felt in that moment. He had been most ashamed that, that feeling was what he had been pondering when he'd failed to hear – and – answer a question from his Lordship. Not long after that, Charles had had a moment of clarity and now knew that it had been love. Or at least the initial stages of it.

Rather than being shocked at the realisation, Charles had met it with a quiet acceptance. For a while now they had been moving towards this point, their friendship deepening and turning into something new altogether. He looked at the clock opposite and decided it was time to head up. He'd already had one night with very little sleep this past week, and he didn't feel young enough to actually do it again.

As he walked out of his pantry and closed the door behind him, he felt the hint of a summer breeze drift towards him. Charles walked towards the back door and frowned when he saw it. He could've sworn he'd locked it earlier. Rather than shut it again, he walked out into the night if only to ease his mind that Jimmy or one of the other footmen they'd hired for the week hadn't convinced a maid to join them in the garden.

Charles walked up the steps and into the garden. Any words of reprimand died on his tongue as he saw who was sat on the bench. The light breeze gently whipping a few wisps around her face. Elsie looked up as she heard footsteps and smiled when she saw who had found her.

"I thought you had gone up."

"I was going to, but I felt like getting some air," she smiled, "and I much prefer a night sky to a plain ceiling."

"Do you mind if I join you?"

"No," she replied as she moved over a little to make room for him.

Both sat in silence for a few moments, letting the sounds of London at night wash over them. They were both surprised to find that the silence wasn't as awkward as it had been after their little paddle or on the train back to London.

"I know I was a bit hesitant about a staff outing to the beach, but I think it was a success," Charles commented a short while later.

"It was, Mr Carson," she replied, "very much so. You've earned yourself a few days goodwill with them for that," she added drawing a low chuckle from her companion.

"Considering we return to Downton in a couple of days, I believe that's a good thing," he mused, "what were you and Lady Mary discussing in the library a few days ago?" he asked. The question had been on his mind for several days now, and he had finally worked up the courage to ask.

"Nothing of consequence," Elsie replied off-handedly, "but I trust your Lady Mary to do the right thing," she added with a smile, "do you think this season was a success?" she asked, wanting to move on from the Bates' and train tickets. She already felt bad enough keeping secrets from him.

"I do," he replied, "probably the last one we'll see Mrs Hughes."

"Not thinking of retirement are you?" she asked hoping to hear an answer in the negative.

"No," he scoffed, "what I meant was Ladies Mary and Edith don't need the season anymore and after a ball like hers, I daresay Lady Rose will be married or engaged within the year," he added with a sigh, "you know it seems like only yesterday we prepared for Lady Mary's debut, where does the time go?"

"I couldn't tell you," Elsie replied with a sympathetic smile. In the distance, they heard Big Ben chime 11, "I guess that means its time we went up."

Charles nodded in agreement and they both made their way back inside. She waited while he locked up before they made their way up to the servants quarters

"Mrs Hughes," he said quietly, as they stood on the landing.

"Yes?"

"Never mind," he replied with a shake of his head, cursing his inability to say how he felt, "goodnight Mrs Hughes."

"Goodnight Mr Carson," she smiled as she turned to walk towards her room.

 _'Someday'_ he thought to himself as he shut his bedroom door behind him, _'someday I will actually_ _tell her how I feel'_. He just hoped it wouldn't be too long before he said anything.

* * *

 **I do hope you'll take the time to leave a word or two in review if you liked it.**


	10. Not Dying

**A/N: So this came about as a result of seeing the prompt 'Not Dying' amongst a list of prompts when I was going through a phase of not really wanting to write anything/thinking everything I wrote was complete tosh. It also came about as a result of me thinking about an old text post, I recall seeing on tumblr in the aftermath of 6x05. I forget who it was (and if someone knows, or it is them that came up with the thought, I'll be more than happy to give them the credit for sparking the idea) but the basics of it was wondering if Charles saw parallels in Lord Grantham keeping the severity of his ulcer under-wraps and Elsie keeping her cancer scare to herself at the start of series 3. I then thought about how Elsie would react (she wasn't in the dining room, but she obviously heard about it as did everyone else downstairs) and if Lord Grantham's medical emergency brought back memories of something else. Thus this little one shot was born.**

 **Also, towards the end I reference something to do with Charles that was only shown in the final episode. We don't know when it started, so I've made reference to it starting here.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.**

* * *

1925

It had been two weeks since Lord Grantham's ulcer had burst at dinner and Downton was getting back to normal. While Charles still worried about the health of his Lordship, he was also worried about Elsie. She'd been a lot more quiet and reflective in the past couple of weeks. He had initially wondered if it was because she too was worried about Lord Grantham. He knew that her devotion to the family wasn't as great as his, but he knew that she was loyal to them and that she worried about individual members on occasion. He had thought that after Lord Grantham had come home from the hospital with an almost clean bill of health, Elsie would go back to her usual self. However, she still seemed far too quiet, and Charles was fairly sure that something was troubling her.

"Is Mrs Hughes alright Mr Carson?" Daisy asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"As far as I'm aware," he replied as he turned to look at her, "why?"

"No reason," Daisy commented, shrinking back a little under his gaze. Even after almost 15 years of working with him, he still scared her a little.

"See for yourself," Mrs Patmore said as she placed a tray with two cups and a kettle on it front of him.

He picked up the tray and walked towards Elsie's sitting room. He paused by the door, as he noticed her sat at her desk. He could tell by the way that she was leaning forward slightly that her chin was resting on her clasped hands. Charles placed the tray on the small table, before he walked over to her. The blank sheet of paper in front of her, told him that she clearly hadn't done whatever it was she had planned to do this afternoon. He frowned a little as he noticed the lingering traces of tears on her cheek and he immediately thought back to see if he had done anything wrong. Or anything that he might have said to upset her, he knew he could be crabby a lot of the time. He cleared his throat to get her attention. When that didn't work, he placed a hand on her arm. She jumped slightly, and turned to face him.

"Sorry," he said as he sat down on the chair opposite, "but you were miles away. Is something wrong?" he prompted.

"No," Elsie replied,"just tired," she added, the tone of her voice telling him not to question her further. She stood up and poured them both a cup of tea, before she passed him a cup.

Charles took the cup from her and watched as she sat back down. He would just have to find some other way of getting her to tell him what was on her mind. He set his cup down on the table and reached over, taking one of her hands in his. Elsie smiled softly at him, moments like this were hard to come by during the day, and so they had learned to take them where they could.

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As he lay looking up at the ceiling of their bedroom, he wondered just when Elsie would confide in him. Charles had given her several chances throughout the day and on the walk home to confide in him but she was still keeping quiet. The last time she had been as quiet and not quite herself, had been several years back when they thought she might have cancer. He really hoped it wasn't that again. He had just watched his employer nearly die in front of him, he wasn't sure he'd be able to cope if he had to watch her die in front of him. As he shook his head to clear his mind of those thoughts and the images it had brought to mind, he realised that Elsie was still awake. Her breathing was completely different to what it usually was. He turned over so that he was on his side facing her.

"What's on your mind Elsie?" he asked, his voice reverberating in the stillness of the room.

"What do you mean?" she countered, her voice sharp despite the tired quality to it.

"We've worked together for thirty years. I know your silences. I know _you_. You're worrying about something."

"You won't think me silly if I told you?"

"I could never think you silly," he replied honestly, as he pulled her close to him, before moving to lay on his back, with her head against his chest. The beat of his heart soothing her troubled mind. "Your worries will go no further than this room. I would even make them my worries if you wish."

Elsie tilted her head to smile up at him, before she found one of the buttons on his pyjama shirt fascinating. She rolled it between her fingers, before she took a deep breath and began to speak.

"The night his Lordship was rushed to the hospital, when Mr Molesley came running down those stairs. My first thought was that something had happened to you," she said, as she felt Charles tighten his hold on her. "I had flashbacks to that night you collapsed during the War," she added, "for a moment I thought I was going to lose you. And now, I can't seem to rid my mind of it."

"Is that why you've been so worried?" Charles asked, finding his throat a little dry and slight wetness on his cheeks. He felt her nod against his chest. "You've been worried about me dying?"

"Yes," she whispered quietly. The images once again coming to the front of her mind; him collapsed in the middle of the dining room, his lifeless body, a coffin lowered being to the ground, rooms once filled with love and laughter, now filled with quiet and sorrow in the corners.

"Well, I'm not planning on dying any time soon," he commented, "but if it eases your mind, we'll take a visit to Doctor Clarkson tomorrow morning," he added as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, feeling her move that little bit closer to him.

* * *

Charles walked down the servants corridor as he looked for Thomas. He had cleared it with Lady Grantham that he and Elsie would be out that morning. He hadn't intended to tell her the reason, but when she had seen him speaking with Doctor Clarkson, she had asked him about it. After all that had happened in the past couple of weeks, she had completely understood Elsie's worries.

"Miss Baxter said you were looking for me, Mr Carson," Thomas said as he came out of the servants hall.

"Yes, Mrs Hughes and myself have business in the village this morning," he replied, "you'll be in charge until we return. No one other than family is visiting so it should be straightforward."

"Yes Mr Carson," Thomas nodded as he turned on his heel and headed upstairs.

Charles watched as the young man walked away. He hoped that this time, Thomas would be a little bit kinder to the remaining staff and not give them reason to mutiny. He walked back down the corridor and – after a quick word with Mrs Patmore about keeping an eye on Thomas – he knocked on Elsie's open door. She smiled at him and finished what she was doing, before she put the book back on the shelf above her desk.

"Are you ready?" he asked as he picked up her coat and hat from the pegs behind the door.

"Yes," she nodded as she stood up.

* * *

The walk to the village was a pleasant one. While it was overcast, the sun was trying to peek out from behind the clouds and the rain was keeping itself at bay. As they walked through the village they were greeted by various villagers with a polite 'Mr and Mrs Carson' which always filled them both with happiness. It was rare for them to hear Elsie referred to as Mrs Carson, so it was always a treat for the both of them.

Half an hour later, Elsie was sat outside Doctor Clarkson's office, while she waited for him to finish with the doctor. She had sat in the doctor's office with Charles when they'd first arrived, but had left before the examination had started. They may be married now, but there were still some things they wanted privacy with. Plus Elsie had realised that if Charles did have any worries about his health, he may wish to speak to Clarkson about them first so as to not give her any more worry.

As she listened to the clock tick in the quiet of the corridor, Elsie toyed with a loose thread on her coat sleeve. She stopped before it came loose completely. She made a mental note to deal with it later and looked up as Doctor Clarkson opened the door.

"You can come in now, Mrs Carson."

She walked into the office to see Charles pulling his jacket back on before he sat in one of the chairs in front of Doctor Clarkson's desk. She smiled at him as he placed his hand over the two that were folded in her lap. Both watched as he consulted the few notes he had made throughout the examination. While they appreciated the fact that was making sure of everything before speaking. The silence only served to be the very opposite of reassuring.

"Well," he said after a few more moments of silence, "you'll both be pleased to hear that everything is as it should be," he added with a smile. "There's nothing that gives me any concern. You're in perfect health, Mr Carson," he finished. It wasn't his place to mention, something that Carson had told him. He trusted him to his wife in due course. Or at least when it got worse.

-x-

"See, everything is fine," Charles said as they exited the hospital. He neglected to tell her about the occasional tremor he had. It didn't affect his duties and it was nothing to worry about. Yet. "I'm not about to drop dead."

"I never thought you would," Elsie replied replied as she slipped her arm through his, "but it is a weight off of my mind, I won't deny it."

"We stand a good chance of making thirty years then," he commented, giving her a pointed look as they both recalled a disagreement in the lead up to the wedding. "I thought we might have dinner at the cottage tonight." he added. As his thoughts turned to spending a lovely evening with his wife. He completely missed the slight grimace that had briefly crossed her face as Elsie wondered if it would be good enough for him this time.

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 **Hope you'll leave a word or two in review if you liked it.**


	11. Fairytale

**A/N: Okay first things first, _'Oh What A Circus_ ' is definitely going to be updated, the chapter I'm currently writing is hard and its not one I can skip or move as it sets up the rest of the story, but rest assured an update is coming. Secondly, this was originally going to be a much longer and multi-chaptered thing that would be my contribution to chelsie fan's Unofficial Downton Abbey Series 8 but I couldn't get it to work so it just became this one shot instead. So for the next few weeks, I'm going to be updating _'The Chelsie Storybook'_ with various one shots and AU's. And I look forward to seeing what other Downton fans come up with if they're also participating. Anyway, I hope you like this.**

 **Disclaimer: Characters not mine, I'm just playing in the world.**

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Once upon a time there was a Kingdom called Kalos. Unlike the other Kingdom's in the land, Kalos didn't have a precedence when it came to ascending the throne. When the monarch died the Kingdom automatically passed to the eldest child, male or female. The only caveat was that they had to be married so that they could provide the kingdom with an heir. Currently, the next in line was Princess Elsie the eldest daughter and only child of Queen Margaret and King Alistair. She was known throughout the land as being a spirited princess who could hold her own amongst the Knights of Kalos (who she was often found shooting arrows with) and could spend hours running through the small wood in the castle grounds without a single care or thought for her appearance. It was also well known that she was not impressed with the fact that she had to be married to take the throne. Or her mother's frequent lessons on how she should behave when she would become queen. Or the various suitable suitors that they kept trying to get her to marry.

After one such lesson, when tempers had exploded between mother and daughter, and the King could not keep the peace, the Princess took off on horseback and fled the castle. This fact caused great consternation for all at the palace, especially when one considered the fact that the forest that marked the boundary between Kalos and Mercia was dangerous due to the sheer size and easy it was to get lost in it. Not to mention the fact that due to growing tensions between the two Kingdom's, should the Princess be seen alone, there would be no reason why they would not kidnap her and either keep her prisoner or simply kill her.

After an hour of riding, the Princess came across a small village at the edge of the woods that were the border between Kalos and Mercia. She knew from her lessons that this was part of her kingdom so didn't have to worry about anyone that may wish to harm her. For this Princess Elsie was extremely grateful as her horse needed to have his shoe redone. As she walked through the village, Sapphire trotting behind her, the villagers bowed down to their princess, giving her the respect she deserved. She smiled slightly at them in acknowledgment as she looked for blacksmith's cottage.

As she drew near to the cottage, she noticed a young man sat on a step outside reading.

"Excuse me," she said drawing his attention.

"Yes your highness?"

"Is the blacksmith around? My horse has cast a shoe."

"He's in the forge, follow me," the man said as he put his book to one side and led her around the side of the house and towards a large barn in the distance.

"Are you his apprentice?"

"No," he laughed, "I'm his son, Charles."

"Oh," Elsie commented, slightly abashed, "sorry."

"Don't worry," he smiled, "if I might ask, what brings you to this part of the Kingdom?"

"My parent's, pressuring me to find a husband."

"And you do not want one?"

"No, I do, just not someone I'm told to marry," she replied as she followed him into the forge.

Half an hour later, she was riding back to the castle, Charles on foot beside her to make sure that there were no further problems with Sapphire. As they travelled they talked of a great many things. Charles found that unlike any other woman he'd spoken to in this part of the Kingdom, the Princess possessed a quick wit and a sharp mind. Elsie found that Charles was able to hold her attention longer than three minutes and wished he wasn't the son of a blacksmith so that he might be permitted to call on her again.

As they drew near to the castle gates, both felt a reluctance to part and made plans to meet at a small clearing to the North of the castle the following day.

The next day, and many more days after that, they continued to meet and as was to expected they fell in love. Even though they came from two different classes they still made many promises to each other and gave their hearts freely.

On the eve of Elsie's twentieth birthday, Charles asked her to marry him, fully expecting her to turn him down flat. To his surprise and joy, she immediately accepted telling him she thought he would never ask. They rode to the castle and immediately told her parents. After some initial shock they were happy. Mostly because several generations ago, a 'commoner' had married into royalty (Queen Margaret was just glad that her daughter was marrying someone). However, they gave him an honorary title of 'Sir' if only to make it acceptable to some of the other nobles in the court. After a visit with Charles's parents, the engagement was announced at Princess Elsie's birthday ball, with the wedding planned for a few months later. Which did nothing to help the rumblings that there were urgent matters as to why the wedding took place so fast.

The wedding was a joyous event for all of the Kingdom and drew many members of royalty from distant kingdoms. However, a short while after the wedding a War broke out in the Northern territories. The newly crowned Prince Charles set off alongside the King, leading the men into the battlefield. The Kingdom of Mercia sent men to help the fight, led by Prince Robert. The War saw many casualties on all fronts and much nervous fretting from Princesses Elsie and Cora. Many letters were sent back and forth from the battlefield to the Kingdom, though no mention was made of the condition that Princess Elsie was in, if only to stop Charles from doing something stupid that might result in his death in a haste to return home. However, when it looked like the armies were winning, the good news was relayed to the battlefront to give the men a boost. The news gave the Kalos army a renewed sense of vigour and led to Kalos being able to win the War. After a long eight months, the army led by Princes Charles and Robert, returned victorious allowing Charles to be united with his wife and newborn son. The War led to a strong alliance forged between the two Kingdom's that carried on for many generations. The peaceful aftermath of the War led to a very happily ever after.

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 **Thanks for reading, hope you'll leave a word or two in review.**


	12. Dancing in the Dark

Ok, so here is another offering for the unofficial Downton Abbey series 8. This is just a short little thing, inspired by two lines from the song 'Perfect' by Ed Sheeran. Its set post series finale. So its dealing with future Chelsie. And some part of this will find its way into a slightly longer piece that will deal with what happened to everyone after the series finale. For the most part it was written while dosed up on cough medicine, so I hope its good and that you like it.

A/N: I don't own these characters, or the lyrics from 'Perfect'

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 _Baby, I'm dancing in the dark  
With you between my arms_

~ Perfect by Ed Sheeran

~X~

The setting sun cast an orange glow around the garden of the small cottage as Charles Carson surveyed the grounds in front of him. Since he had become semi-retired, he had found he quite enjoyed gardening and had taken to toiling in their small garden. Sometimes he would be joined by his wife, but more often than not he was by himself. It didn't bother him though, he liked the time alone with his thoughts, plus it gave him more to talk about with Elsie over their evening meal. One other bonus that he had found was that it often relaxed him and while it didn't completely get rid of the tremors, it certainly made them a fraction easier to control. Which in turn, meant he spent less time worrying about them.

He smiled slightly as he caught sight of the top of the Abbey in the distance. Things had changed a fair bit there in the past few months and he knew that Elsie was considering retirement in some form and passing the reins onto Miss Baxter. Anna and Mr Bates were looking at properties on the coast, Daisy had moved to Mr Mason's farm and was courting Andrew. Mrs Patmore had also been spending a fair bit of her free time at the farm too, and he and Elsie were just waiting for the moment that the two would make it official. Thomas was finally showing the side of him, that only a few had seen before and was rewarding Charles and Lord Grantham's faith in him being a worthy replacement as butler of Downton Abbey. Both were confident that the Abbey was in the right hands.

His previous smile widened as he heard a gentle melody begin to drift out of the open windows. Earlier that year, Lord Grantham – on the orders of Lady Mary, who had decided the Carson's should have something special to make their first year of marriage – had gifted them with their own wireless. After some initial hesitation and bluster, they had taken to listening to it for an hour in the evenings. Sometimes they danced a little but for the most part, they sat curled up to each other and just enjoyed the small moments of togetherness. Especially if it had been a long day for Elsie.

"You coming inside Charlie?"

Charles turned around and saw Elsie stood in the doorway, the light spilling out behind her. As she so often did when she returned from the Abbey, she had unpinned her hair and just had the braid hanging loose.

"In a minute," he replied. As he watched her turn to walk back inside, Charles reached out and took her hand.

"What?"

"Dance with me."

"In the garden?"

"Why not?"

"Who are you and what have you done with Charles Carson?" Elsie laughed as she let him pull her close to him and into his arms. Charles merely smiled in response and proceeded to move them around the small garden in something resembling a waltz.

Elsie didn't mind that she was still wearing her apron or had a dishcloth in her hands. She'd first seen the spontaneous side of her husband on their honeymoon. In the early days of their marriage while they were still finding their feet and with Charles's exacting high standards it hadn't been seen that much. But once they'd managed to balance their butler and housekeeper persona's with being newly-weds, that side of him had started to rear its head once more and it was always a treat when it did show up.

As they slowed to a mere sway, the sky gradually darkened and the stars began to appear, all while the music continued to play. Charles placed a light kiss to the top of her head. Elsie hummed softly in response, before reaching up a little and kissing his cheek.

"I think its time we headed inside." Charles said as the warmth of the evening gave way to the slight chill of an early summer night and the music came to an end.

"In a minute, its a nice night," she replied. "It reminds me of our last night in Scarborough."

Charles smiled as he recalled the night in question. After a small meal at one of the restaurants they had walked along the seafront with the sound of the waves lapping against the wall to accompany them. The night had been just like this too. They had made plans to return in the near future, and Charles was hoping to recreate that night when the family visited Brancaster Castle later in the summer. They also had many plans for the near future, including a trip to Lytham St. Anne's to see Becky. Sometime soon, they'd both retire and they would have time for all of them. But for now, all they were really thinking about was this moment, the person who was in their arms and how perfect it all was.

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Hope you'll leave a line or two in review.


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